May we meet again
by Vulpippy
Summary: Clarke and Lexa meet several weeks after the events of Mount Weather. This is my first time writing a fic, so please do let me know what you think :)
1. Chapter 1

Clarke dropped to her knees in the mud next to the stream, barely registering the icy chill seeping through her trousers. She almost groaned in relief as the dull ache receded just slightly from her tight muscles. She noticed the small rock face across the clearing that she could use to make a good shelter, perhaps she'd stay here for a few days. Sometimes it was days before she found another water source, she should make the most of it. Since leaving Camp Jaha she had walked for weeks, months maybe. The season was turning, with the last bit of green still clinging to the trees whilst the rest lay brown and crumpled beneath her feet.

Water soaked into the sleeves of her jacket as she scooped handfuls of water to splash onto her face, wincing at the frigid water. Clarke held her hands beneath the surface and scrubbed at her hands. Only when her hands were a pale, waxen yellow did she stop to fill her water canister. She grimaced as she flexed her stiff fingers, and glanced around the clearing. And froze.

Blended with the rocks was a monstrous creature. She suspected it belonged to the bear family, but it was far larger than any she'd read about. It hadn't seen her yet. That was good, right? It yawned and lumbered to its feet as it sniffed through the undergrowth. Clarke swallowed audibly as she watched in horror. It was far, far larger than a bear. The breeze picked up and the bear stopped, swinging its gaze around to land on her. The ground reverberated with its growl- or maybe that was just her legs trembling. Slowly she reached to the back of her waistband for her gun as she assessed her options. No trees suitable for climbing, or tall enough to get her out of its reach. She doubted the two bullets left in her handgun would do any use. The bear flared its nostrils as it hungrily drank in her scent. It's jaw dropped open to taste the air, and at the sight of the large yellow teeth her courage snapped.

She ran from the clearing. The moment she moved she remembered all the books and old movies on the Ark that said never to run from a bear, but it was too late now. Damn bears were never a problem on the Ark anyway. Her legs almost locked in fear at the sound of the bear pounding after her, each leap shaking the earth. She gulped in huge lungfuls of air as she fled, not daring to take her eyes off the treacherous terrain in front of her. She could hear the bear gaining on her terrifyingly fast. She hurdled a fallen sapling, landing clumsily but managing to stay on her feet. She ran like she'd never run before, the cold air piercing her lungs as she gasped and black spots filling her vision.

"Run!" Clarke heard the shout from the trees but didn't stop to see who it was. Even as she felt the bear's hot breath behind her she felt a flash of irritation, she _was_ running, damn it. She broke through into another clearing filled with dead leaves that she kicked up as she ran. Out of nowhere a force hit her from the side, knocking her through the air. Even before she landed she tried to work out what her new assailant was. She hit the ground hard and her foe crashed into her, driving all of the air out of her lungs as she rolled across the solid earth. She came to a halt on her back but she couldn't move and her lungs filled with fire as she tried to take a breath. The bear swept past her crumpled form and then vanished with a roar that trailed off into a whine. She closed her eyes as she panted for breath, felt leaves drift down onto her face. When the pain in her lungs eased a fraction she struggled to sit up. Her leg was twisted beneath her and pain streaked up her leg as she tried to move it. Then she saw the grounder. She fumbled for her gun but it was gone. The grounder carefully stood and brushed the leaf litter from his clothes, then barked something in Trigedasleng, but he wasn't looking at her.

More grounders appeared from the trees and approached what she now saw was a large pit dug into the earth, as long as five men. In total six grounders stood in the clearing, speaking rapidly and clapping each other on the back. Only one, the man who had tackled her, appeared to be a warrior. He turned to her a stood over her, assessing her for several long seconds before he held out a hand to help her up. Clarke took it cautiously, watching for any sudden hostility. But he ignored her and approached the pit instead. When she did not follow he beckoned her.

"Come." Clarke hobbled over to the pit, trying not to put weight on her injured knee. Standing at the edge of the pit she could see the pitfall trap clearly, the bear impaled on several vicious stakes. It heaved ragged breaths but it knew it was defeated. The warrior drew his sword and jumped down into the pit, steering clear of the jaws. He spoke reverently, and the other grounders echoed his words. They all turned expectantly to Clarke.

"We must thank its spirit." She hastily mumbled something that sounded a little bit similar. The warrior nodded, and then finished the beast off. He spoke more in Trigedasleng, and a boy of no more than twelve tied a rope to a sturdy trunk and tossed the end into the pit. The warrior pulled himself out and spoke to the others again. They laughed and looked at Clarke, who suddenly felt self conscious.

"You nearly met the same fate as that one." He explained with a jerk of his head to the pit. She blushed.

"Thank you for saving me." He was apparently the only one to speak English, and a lot friendlier than other grounders she had met.

"Ah, it was no problem, I would have been more displeased if you had ruined our hunt."

"Sorry." She mumbled again, still unsure of herself. But he broke into a wide smile. These northern Grounders really were a lot friendlier. Had she ever even seen a grounder smile before?

"Do not apologise to me, it was Kofi's hunt that you stole." He gestured to the boy who shrugged and answered with a shy smile. "He says he will get the next one, and he will do it better." Though embarrassed, Clarke took this as a good sign, that she was relaxed enough to worry about such trivial things.

"As a thank you for your help in the hunt you must come to our village, we will feast tonight. First I must fetch others to help though." He gave more instructions to the others and then strode away.

The grounders ignored her as she limped across the clearing to pick up her gun from where it had fallen. Kofi tensed as he saw the gun and muttered the word aloud to the rest of the group, who turned to look at her warily. Clarke smiled and made a show of emptying the clip, and tucked it into her waistband, feeling a little bit naked with no weapons. Three of the five held wicked looking spears, and all of them carried a knife. They seemed to understand though, and relaxed again. A girl slightly younger than herself banged her fist against her chest.

"Mina." She guessed that was her name, the rest of the Grounders followed suit and then looked to her.

"My name is Clarke." The group grew still, and Kofi chattered excitedly in Trigedeslang before turning to her.

"Clarke _kom skaikru_?" She nodded uncertainly and they erupted with noise. They were going far too fast to understand any parts of it, but there was a lot of angry headshaking, mainly by the two eldest Grounders, and a lot of gesturing to the pit and to Clarke. Kofi kept repeating Clarke _kom skaikru_ with awe. Eventually the elders seemed to give in, and gestured to Mina and Kofi.

"Come." Kofi said, excitedly beckoning to her. Clarke felt unease trickle down her spine. She tried to shake her head politely. Kofi repeated himself several times, gesturing as well but she refused, she could hardly walk anyway. Mina approached and squatted next to her. She poked Clarke's knee sharply and she couldn't help but wince with pain.

"Leg. Hurts?" Clarke nodded.

"I can't walk like this." She tried to explain, but could see they were lost. Mina opened her pack and spoke rapidly with Kofi, who raced off to the edge of the clearing. He came back with large branches which she used to make a kind of splint. It helped a lot, but Clarke still didn't want to go with them. However she soon changed her mind when Kofi roughly grabbed her wrists and tied them together before she could register. Damn, he was strong for a kid half her size. He jabbed her with his spear point and she quickly got the message. She was going with them.


	2. Chapter 2

Irritation built up inside of her as Lexa listened to her Generals reporting. One spoke of a trivial issue that his village had with their neighbour and she flashed a glare at him. He changed his track immediately. They all knew of her quick temper and growing bad moods that had plagued her in recent weeks. Just as she was considering how bad it would really be to stab one of her generals, a runner arrived at the tent. The girl's face was flushed with excitement and Lexa interrupted the meeting to hear what she had to say.

"They have captured a prisoner and brought her here." This was not so out of the ordinary that it would explain her tone.

"Bring her to me." Lexa was curious. She dismissed all the generals but Indra and waited for the girl to return. She closed her eyes to listen to the camp, and heard the ripple of excitement that spread.

Clarke _kom skaikru. _

Lexa inhaled sharply, willing the flutter in her stomach to settle. Could she really be here?

Yes. She knew the moment Clarke entered the tent. She opened her eyes, now carefully emptied of emotion. She controlled the flicker of anger at the sight of her hands tightly bound in front of her.

"Why are her hands tied?" She asked calmly to the boy beside Clarke.

"She would not come with us and we knew that you wished to speak with the sky people." He answered simply, his chest puffed out in pride. He explained what had happened and she could see the he would soon be a warrior, even if he had missed out at that hunt. Lexa gestured with a flick of her hand and he immediately pulled out a knife and cut Clarke's hands free then left the tent.

"My apologies, Clarke of the Sky People." She said formally as Clarke rubbed her sore wrists. Lexa took in her splinted, swollen leg, threadbare clothes and the long golden hair that had grown tangled and matted. The bright blue eyes that flashed with fury.

"Thanks, _Commander_." She spat contemptuously. The muscle in Indra's jaw tightened at the insult but she remained still.

"There was a misunderstanding with my orders. You were not to be brought here against your will, I merely wished to extend an invitation to your people."

"Well, I'm here now." She had calmed a fraction, but was still clearly furious.

"My healers will see to your leg, and we offer you food and shelter." The words she really wanted to say stuck in her throat. Clarke exploded in fresh anger.

"Is that all you have to say to me? After everything that happened at the mountain, all you can do is offer me dinner?" She took a step forward and her leg nearly buckled. Indra reached for her sword but Lexa stopped her with a look, barely managing to stay seated instead of rushing to help Clarke.

"The gratitude of my people will always be with you for defeating the Mountain Men." She uttered the words calmly, despite the hammering of her heart against her ribcage.

"I don't want your gratitude! _You _saved your people by sacrificing _mine_. The Mountain Men agreed to leave you alone. I saved _my _people. I had to after you just left us. After you left _me_."

"Clarke." Lexa whispered, trapping the pain that clawed her insides so that it wouldn't show.

"No! You left me and sacrificed my people. Left them to die. So I had to do it. I had no choice. I did it and you don't even have it in you to say sorry." Clarke's eyes glistened and her body trembled. They stared at each other for what felt like a lifetime as Lexa struggled with the words that longed to flow out of her. She felt Indra's disapproving glare on her face and finally shook herself.

"I have nothing to apologise for. I did what I needed to do to save my people. I need not explain myself to an outsider." She said with finality. Clarke stared at her with the same betrayed, heartbroken expression as she had at the mountain. Lexa felt the knife twisting in the same unhealed wounds as before. "My people offer you our hospitality." She repeated and Clarke gave her one final heart wrenching look before stumbling from the tent. Lexa stared after her for minutes, hoping that she would reappear, though she knew that she would not. She had truly severed the ties between them.

"Commander I-" Indra started but she cut her off with a sharp cut of her hand.

"You're dismissed."

"Commander." Indra began again, uncertainly.

"Leave me." Lexa hissed.

When she was alone she gasped raggedly for air. Her eyes stung and her throat hurt and she felt the anger building up inside of her. She stood and clenched her fists tightly by her side till her fingernails dug into her palms, trying to control herself. All the anger and pain and frustration that had built up inside of her bubbled to the top. Lexa slammed her palms down on the table before her and she swept the contents to the floor. A half filled bowl of food fell on her foot and with disgust she kicked it away. The bowl hit one of the wooden beams supporting the tent and cracked, sparking satisfaction. She grabbed one of the heavy chairs and with a shriek of frustration swung it against the foot of her bed. The chair splintered and fell apart and she froze, panting with exertion. She had not meant to be so loud in her outburst. She held her breath as she listened past the walls of her solitude. Already she heard murmurs from the guards. She could not afford to behave like this, she was the commander. She did not have the luxury to throw a tantrum like an infant. And she had destroyed a perfectly good chair. She frowned and swept the pile of splintered wood aside with her foot, feeling some of the rage seep out of her. She was shocked to find her cheeks wet and angrily dashed the tears away, smearing black across her hand. Barely containing a snarl she washed the rest of her warpaint off. Then she sat on the floor with her eyes closed and just breathed until her heart slowed and she felt fully in control. Grabbing her sword she strode from the tent, surprising the guards.

"Indra, come." She beckoned the General and swept past the guards, who avoided her eyes.

"Commander?" Lexa ignored the question as she steered them towards the camp entrance, head held high. As she passed the healer's tent she kept her gaze fixed ahead of her but she still caught sight of Nyko bending over somebody in her peripheral vision. Somebody with golden hair that curled wild and unbraided past her shoulders. She lengthened her stride determinately.


	3. Chapter 3

Lexa returned long after night had truly fallen. Most of the fires has burnt out and the camp was quiet. Normally she'd have missed the daytime bustle but tonight she was grateful for the peace. She stopped outside of her tent and nodded to Indra.

"Thank you." The older woman accepted with one of her rare but true smiles.

"You fought with grace as always, Commander." Though Indra had the advantage of size and experience, they were evenly matched in their sparring. Usually Lexa would have jested but tonight she did not feel like it. Her muscles ached from the hours of fighting and she longed to sleep. Tonight she just felt bruised to her soul.

Inside the tent she sighed in relief at the sight of a large tub of water that her people had left her. Though it had most likely been heated a while before it still held a small amount of warmth which she was appreciative of, as the night had grown cool. She bathed quickly, washing the sweat and grime from her skin before falling into bed.

Hours later she huffed irritatedly. She still could not sleep despite how tired her body was. Her mind would not switch off as she replayed scenarios in her head over and over. She rolled over again and winced when something stabbed into her hip. She felt under the furs until she grasped the pestilence and examined it in the dark. Though she could not see, it felt a lot like part of the chair she had smashed earlier. She glared at it for several heartbeats and then sighed in defeat. She set the sliver of wood down on the table by her bed and dressed quickly.

Clarke awoke to the sound of the tent flap falling back into place. It was not a particularly loud noise, but she'd become rather used to sleeping lightly whilst on her own. Though the salve that Nyko had applied had helped her knee for a few hours it was now throbbing again. She thought about waking Nyko to ask for some more medicine, but she decided she'd wait until the Commander left first. She knew it was Lexa, standing at the foot of her bed. She could almost feel her gaze on her back, but she feigned sleep. She did not fancy a shouting match in the middle of a Grounder camp at night.

"Clarke." Lexa whispered softly in the quiet, but she ignored her. She hadn't been mad with Lexa until she'd seen her again. In the weeks she had wandered alone Lexa had been the one she craved, who would understand the choice she'd made, like she understood the one Lexa had made. She was the commander and she had made her decision that saved her people. But seeing her again brought it all back afresh. The all-consuming guilt for what she did. The innocent people. The look in Jasper's eye. Maya. The small blistered bodies.

Lexa's utter betrayal had caused her so much pain but it was the guilt that made her sick to the bone. For what _she'd _done. For what Lexa had _forced_ her to do by leaving. And Lexa wasn't sorry. She couldn't even see what she'd had to go through as a result. She just sat there with her armour and her warpaint and the same flat, expressionless eyes she'd had when she'd first met. As if they hadn't been through what they'd been through, the decisions they'd made together. As if Clarke hadn't saved her ass from Monaw. As if Lexa hadn't ki—

"I know you're awake." Clarke gritted her teeth and remained still, hoping the Commander would take the hint and just leave. She didn't.

After several minutes more of silence, Clarke sat up in bed and turned to her. Nyko had left a torch burning in his section of the tent which allowed a small glimmer of light to reach them. Lexa's warpaint and armour were gone, and in the gloom she looked smaller, more vulnerable.

"What?" Clarke asked impatiently, an edge to her voice. Lexa looked at the floor, worrying the hem of her shirt. She could see the other girl was struggling, but Clarke refused to feel bad for her.

"How is your leg?" Lexa mumbled, still not meeting her eyes.

"Bullshit!" Clarke hissed, loudly. They both froze as Nyko grunted, but he merely turned over in his sleep. Lexa's green eyes finally found her and they were no longer emotionless. Clarke could see a turbulence of emotion in them, but couldn't read them any further. "I know you didn't wake me in the middle of the night to ask about my leg." She continued, but quieter.

Lexa resumed her fiddling as the silence grew between them. As the minutes passed Clarke began to grow more irritated with the other girl. She noticed that Nyko had left a bowl of the plant salve near her bedroll but she couldn't reach it from where she was. She tried to get up to reach it but as she put weight on her leg she couldn't stop the hiss of pain. Lexa quickly crossed the tent and handed her the bowl, still not looking at her.

"Thanks." Clarke muttered begrudgingly. Awkwardly she pulled her trousers down to apply the salve inside the bedroll, but Lexa's gaze was fixed firmly on the floor. The cold in the tent was starting to get to her, so she lay back down and turned her back on Lexa. "I'm tired. We can sit in silence in the morning, perhaps." She was actually tired, too tired to even fight when the other girl didn't leave. She stood there in silence for so long that Clarke thought maybe she had already left and hadn't heard it. But just as she was drifting off to sleep she heard Lexa turn and leave.

"I'm sorry, Clarke." She murmured before she let the tent flap fall behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Clarke slept late into the morning, ignoring the growing noise from the camp for as long as humanly possible before completely abandoning sleep. Nyko's salve had worked wonders on her leg, although each step she took still hurt she could walk without limping. She wanted to apply a bit more anyway, but Nyko was gone and she hadn't been watching closely when he'd prepared it. He had left her some food though, which she ate quickly before packing her bag again. She'd have to ask the Commander if she could take some rations, and that was the only thing stopping her from sneaking away from camp right there and then. She was half tempted to forego the rations just to avoid her, but her hunting skills were still less than adequate so it could be days before she caught something. Plus the food here would already be prepared, and dried so it would keep longer whilst travelling. With a small sigh she headed to the Commander's tent.

The sun was bright and approaching midday as she crossed the camp. Lexa's guards nodded at her politely but stopped her as she tried to enter the tent.

"The _Heda_ is busy. You must wait outside." He spoke quickly with an almost apologetic tone. He seemed uncomfortable telling her what to do. She supposed it was because of the legends that had spread about her. Nyko had told her some, from half accurate recollections to wild prepositions about her battle at Mount Weather. As far as half the grounders were concerned, she had single handedly slain the entire mountain and ended a century-long war.

"Oh, okay." She felt embarrassed for trying to walk straight into the Commander's tent. It had felt so familiar, she'd forgotten for a brief second everything that had happened.

"I can give the _Heda_ a message for you." The second guard spoke in a tone that suggested she'd like to do anything _but_ that.

"No, that's okay. I'll wait." Clarke answered quickly, somewhat relieved that she didn't have to see Lexa right now. She limped to sit on a nearby tree stump, wincing at the pain in her knee. Okay so Nyko's medicine wasn't a miracle cure after all. She still hadn't seen him though so she'd have to put up with it for now. As she waited she watched some children play nearby. They were clearly talking about her, with equal parts fear, awe and excitement. If only they knew what she'd really done.

She hadn't done anything brave or heroic. Bellamy was the one to infiltrate Mount Weather, risking his life for days to free the grounder captives. Jasper and Monty and all the others held it together when they knew that any point they could be dragged away to be harvested. Maya gave her life to help free the Arkers. Raven and Wick were the ones to blow the power and get them inside. All she had done was pull a lever to murder innocent children.

She was startled from her reverie as a shadow fell across her. Clarke looked up to see Lexa standing over her. She wasn't wearing her warpaint, but with the dark circles around her eyes she might as well have been.

"Clarke of the Sky People." Back to formalities apparently. Clarke stood so that she would not tower over her, ignoring the pain in her leg as she did so.

"Commander."

"Is your leg well?" Her eyes and voice were cool, distant, but it did not infuriate Clarke as it had done yesterday. She'd heard the whispered apology, and recognised Lexa's shield for what it was. Lexa was not looking at her, instead scanning the camp distractedly.

"It's fine." Clarke lied. "I came to ask if I could take some rations with me when I leave? Your people have been very welcoming but I would not want to overstay my welcome." Lexa nodded, still not looking at her.

"Yes, we can make arrangements for that later. Would you walk with me?"

"Um, well, I-." She struggled to think of an excuse in time, and her hesitation caught Lexa's attention. They were standing very close together, and when Lexa turned to her she caught the look in Lexa's eye. She knew Lexa would not ask again in front of her people, but her eyes pleaded silently and something inside of her caved. "Okay."

They walked together in silence to the entrance. Clarke forced herself to walk normally despite her protesting knee. Indra lounged nearby but stopped them as they tried to leave. She spoke in Trigedasleng and though Clarke didn't understand most of it she caught the tone and Indra gestured to her waistband where her gun was tucked. The Commander replied in English.

"I am aware. I will be fine." They walked out into the surrounding trees and Clarke couldn't help but ask.

"You really don't think I'd shoot you?"

"No Clarke, I don't think you'd shoot me." She looked away, but Clarke thought she heard amusement in her voice. Clarke bit back a snippy retort and focused instead on walking.


	5. Chapter 5

They walked together in silence for a while, until the sounds of the Grounder camp had completely faded. When they reached a small stream the Commander sat on a large flat rock overhanging a small waterfall. She swung her legs over the edge so that her boots just almost touched the surface. The water trickled over the rocks to create a peaceful babble that Lexa enjoyed listening to. Clarke hung back uncertainly so Lexa shimmied over to the far edge of the rock and patted the rock next to her. The earth was wet and muddy so it made sense to sit on the smooth stone which had dried in the morning sun. Clarke sat as far as possible from her without leaving the stone, so there was a gap wide enough to fit two people between them.

"This is…" Clarke began, but trailing off as if she could not find the right word. "Strange."

"What is?" Lexa puzzled, using her knife to scratch marks on the stone. Now that Clarke looked closer she realised most of the stone was covered in the marks in random patterns.

"You. You seem… normal." Lexa turned to give her a flat stare.

"Clarke you have only known me as the Commander, in a time of war. You've seen who I need to be for my people, but I am a person too."

"I've seen more than that." Clarke replied quietly and Lexa cleared her throat as if embarrassed.

"Yes."

They sat quietly for some time, silent but for the scratching of Lexa's knife and the gurgling stream. But the silence wasn't uncomfortable, it was almost amicable. Lexa had been up all night thinking about what she wanted to say, but now that it came to it the words did not want to come out. Finally Clarke broke the silence.

"I thought you were going to Polis after… you know." She finished lamely, unable to say it.

"I was. But then after what happened it didn't…I didn't…" She sighed and turned to Clarke. "I do not regret the choice that I made. I did it to save my people. But I _am _sorry Clarke. I knew that I was betraying you, but thousands of my warriors might have died to Mount Weather. It was an easy decision to make, as _Heda, _but it was not something that _I_ wanted to do." Lexa's voice broke and she jerked away from Clarke's piercing blue gaze, mortified. Now the silence was uncomfortable, and Lexa wasn't done but there was a stupid lump in her throat that she could not swallow. Finally she managed to whisper. "I don't expect you to forgive what I did to you, to your people. But I wanted you to know that I am sorry for leaving, for everything that happened after I left. My people and I will always be grateful to you for defeating the Mountain Men."

"But you saved your people with the treaty." Clarke pointed out, thought Lexa thought she didn't sound angry like before, instead just confused.

"There was no guarantee that they would have respected it forever. At least now they will." She saw Clarke stiffen from the corner of her eye and instantly felt bad. She had not meant to put it like that. "Sorry."

The silence grew awkward between them and eventually Lexa started to get up.

"Wait." Clarke bit out, an arm thrust across to stop her. Lexa simply nodded and sat back down. She couldn't help but notice they were sitting closer now, close enough that if Clarke put her arm out again, it would have reached her. "I have things that I need to say to you too, I'm just trying to organise my thoughts a bit."

Lexa's new spot on the rock brought her slightly closer to the stream, so that when she swung her feet they skimmed the water. She was absorbed in trailing her boots in the fast flowing water to disturb the stream when Clarke spoke again.

"You don't need to apologise. Not really." Lexa twisted her head to look at Clarke so fast she hurt her neck, but now Clarke was staring into the stream. "I understand the decision that you made. And I think I might have made it too, if I was in your position. But understanding it logically and emotionally are two different things. When you left it hurt me. But I thought a about what you said to me, that you'd made the decision with your head and not with your heart. I understood what you meant, that the Commander had broken the alliance, but you hadn't wanted to betray me. And then when I did what I did, in Mount Weather, I understood the choice that you'd made. It helped me forgive you for betraying me, but it also complicated things so much. I don't think I'm explaining this very well." She huffed and threw a pebble into the stream with a plop. Lexa stayed quiet and still as she processed what she'd heard so far.

"When I pulled the lever to flood them with radiation, I suddenly knew what it felt like to make a difficult decision. To sacrifice my own needs in order to save my people. So I understood why you broke the allegiance. But when I walked through Level Five and I saw the devastation that _I'd _caused, it was just all too much. I hated myself for it, and I wanted to hate you for it too, because if you hadn't left with the army, I wouldn't have had to do it like that."

"I had not considered that." Lexa's voice was small and uncertain. "But I am willing to take the blame Clarke. To have you to hate me, if it will ease your pain even a little bit." Clarke's eyes were filled with tears as they finally held each other's gaze.

"They were just children, Lexa. Innocent children." Clarke whispered in horror, clearly remembering the aftermath. Lexa tentatively reached out her hand and touched her fingers to Clarke's. The other girl flinched but did not remove her hand, which Lexa took as a good sign.

"Mount Weather brought this down on themselves. The children did not deserve to die, but their leader gave you no choice. They wanted to kill all of your people in order to get out to the ground so soon, but it was their greed that was their downfall. Octavia explained it to Indra, who told me how the medicine worked. Grounder blood was a temporary measure for them, but the sky people's bone blood cured them. But each person can give the bone blood lots of times if they are given enough time to heal. So if they had been more patient, they could have cooperated with your people. They had been in Mount Weather for a century, they could have survived a couple of years longer. But they forced your hand Clarke, and you rained hellfire down on them. They underestimated you."

Clarke swallowed audibly and as she blinked, a single tear slid down her face.

"But the children… It wasn't their fault that Cage and Danté made bad choices."

"Clarke, think about it. Even if they had cured all of their people, by draining the life from your people. What would happen when their people grew up and had more children? Those children would have suffered the same sickness. Their people were doomed to live as parasites, unable to survive without a host. They all took the blood of my people to survive, none were truly innocent."

Clarke pulled her hand away to wipe her face and took a deep shuddering breath.

"Thank you. That helped. I knew that you would understand what I did. My people… they try to understand. I can see that they are grateful, they know I did what I had to do to save them. But there's also something in their eyes, when they look at me…they fear me. It's not everybody, not those closest to me. But when I look at my friends, all I see is the reason I had to do it. They all looked to me to lead them. I just couldn't be around them anymore."

She suddenly stood up and took a step, landing on her bad leg in the soft mud. Her knee had stiffened up whilst they had sat and it buckled beneath her. Lexa was up in a flash, sliding an arm around her waist to catch her. In her haste she stepped right off the stone and into the stream. The girls stumbled apart, both embarrassed at the contact and Lexa shaking her leg like a dog, hissing Trigedasleng swearwords. Water had soaked to the top of her shin, and Clarke let out a strangled laugh. Lexa glared back, but inside her heart flip-flopped at the sound, as brief as it was.

"That was your fault, Clarke of the Sky People." She growled, but half heartedly. "Does your leg hurt?"

"Yes, a lot. I hadn't noticed it getting so bad." She took a few timid steps, wincing in pain. "I can walk though. We should head back."

They walked slowly through the forest until Clarke let out a small whimper.

"I can help." Lexa said quietly, taking Clarke's arm to put it around her shoulder but Clarke pulled away.

"No, that's okay." She said quickly and hobbled forward.

"Clarke. You're in pain, let me help." Lexa insisted. She held her arm out stiff and Clarke hesitantly gripped it, leaning her weight on the arm like a crutch.

"Thanks. I might need to stay for a few days, my leg is worse than I thought."

Lexa nodded and they returned to camp in silence.


End file.
